


What's in a Name

by moist_pepperoni



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Akira is pregnant, Akira loves her husband, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Future Fic, I worked too hard on this., If you read prepare to get Sad, Set after Garden of Light, Sing reflects, background asheiji, cuz ash n stuff, mentions of underage noncon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 09:43:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15927848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moist_pepperoni/pseuds/moist_pepperoni
Summary: Sing reflects on his past, while Akira wonders about the future.





	What's in a Name

At eight months pregnant, Akira was finding it harder and harder to do things without help. Stairs were a nightmare, driving was impossible, and simply getting out of bed made her lose her breath. Luckily for her, her husband was there to give her whatever she needed.

Her husband was helping her up the stairs into their home one night, when a thought crossed Akira’s mind.

“We haven’t decided on her name yet, have we?” 

Her husband, Sing, faltered for a moment.

“No, I suppose we haven’t.”

Sing plopped down onto the couch, his wife seating herself to his left.

Akira was about to respond when her husband stated, “What do you think about the name, ‘Jade.’”

“It’s lovely. Where did you come up with it?”

“It was Ash’s middle name.”

Akira froze. She knew how hard it was for Sing to talk about what happened. He had told her the basic story when they first met, all those years ago.

He told her of gangs and wars and abuse so unimaginably horrible that she still had trouble picturing it, which may have been a bit of a miracle, truly. Sing had spoken about his old boss Shorter, and tales of the infamous Yut-Lung, but after that day, he never brought it up again.

Until now.

“Are you sure…?”

When Akira found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted to choose a name with meaning; something she could say out loud and be reminded of something dear to her. She realized in that moment that it may have been a little selfish. She hadn’t considered the name would be something significant to Sing, but now that she really thought about it, the thing most significant to her was her family, and if Sing thought that this name would be the best option, she was all for it, but that didn’t she wasn’t still curious.

“If you don’t like the name, that’s fine.”

Akira shook her head furiously.

“No, not at all! I just- I was thinking...”

Sing nodded his head, a silent request for her to keep talking.

“Will you tell me more about what happened?”

She could hear him sigh, a low, breathy sound, from deep within him. She grabbed his hand gently. “You don’t have to.”

“No,” interrupted Sing, “I need to.”

He inhaled sharply, and exhaled slowly.

“I was fourteen-”

He told her about Alexis Dawson’s invention, of the horrific death of Shorter Wong, he even told her about Eiji’s involvement. 

_Eiji._

She could remember the day she first saw him after his return.

He didn’t have any light in his eyes.

Sing was spouting off about a man named ‘Blanca,’ when Akira reached a realization.

_He hasn’t talked about Ash in any detail at all._

She patiently waited for him to finish his thought before interjecting, “Are you ever going to be able to talk about Ash?”

All she knew of him was what Sing had told her. She knew that he was beautiful, intelligent, and loving. She knew that he grew up in New York. She knew that he was Eiji’s soulmate. 

Her husband was right next to her, yet he had never seemed so far away.

He looked at his shoes, then back up to meet her gaze.

After a slow intake of breath, he started off simple. Ash was young when his brother left to join the army. He was taken in by Dino Golzine, who used him as a sex-slave and prostitute. Due to his strength, intelligence, and pull with Golzine, he managed to work himself up the ranks, and became a leader of his own. He made friends, fell in love. He was invincible.

Until he wasn’t.

Akira hadn’t realized she was crying until Sing had finished speaking. She grabbed onto her belly subconsciously. 

“Are you sure you want to name her after someone so tragic?”

“I know this is gonna seem odd, especially since you know I don’t really talk about it, but I prefer not to consider him tragic. Y’know, he died with a smile on his face.”

Akira didn’t know how she should feel, but she felt. She felt raw emotion in the pit of her stomach. Warm and cold, all at once. She could feel the energy radiate off of her husband. He was somber, but not bitter.

“Did you love him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you still love him?”

“Yes.”

The fact that he answered with no hesitation surprised her. He was a smart man. He usually thought about what he wanted to say.

“How so?”

“I’ll tell you this, I didn’t love him the way Eiji loves him. I never have, I never will, I never could, but he is always with me. He impacted my life so greatly. I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it weren’t for him. He taught me about forgiveness and compassion. I owe him my life.”

“Do you blame yourself…?”

“Not a day goes by where I don’t think about how it’s my fault.”

A hot tear slid down her cheek.

“Sing, you know that’s not-”

“My brother killed him. I could have stopped him.”

“No, honey-”

_“You weren’t there.”_

His voice was quick and sharp. He’d never spoken to her like that before. She looked away.

“... If that’s how you feel.”

“Wait- no, I’m sorry.”  
He grabbed her arm gently as she attempted to stand.

“I didn’t mean that. I am truly, truly sorry. I love you. It’s just that remembering it gets to me.”

She wanted to say that it was okay, that she understood his pain, that she could make all the bad things go away, but she couldn’t. So, she shook out of his grasp, and sat back down. She took his hand in hers, and pulled him into her chest. It was a bit awkward with her stomach in the way, but she continued to hold him while he wept.

She carded her fingers through his hair. 

“I think it’ll be the perfect name for her.”


End file.
